Do you ever feel like you have stepped into a movie set? Or have the unsettling feeling that you are in a television sitcom, appearing as an extra in a caricatured version of your own life?

I’ll set the scene. The thin black clock hand, barely visible through a grubby plastic screen, ticks past midnight. From the tunnel, a low rumble first, then a deep roar announces the arrival of the subway train. As this long-awaited silver caterpillar screeches into the station, and tired passengers push their way onto the platform, I step in – backpack over one shoulder, plastic bag in the other. Just another night in New York City.

Slumping onto the hard plastic bench, I squeeze over to let my friend onto the next seat. We sit in silence. It has been a long day, and we are on the final leg of an eight-hour… Read more